Patients will chew nicotine gum 3 times a day until discharge or 7 days, whichever comes first

Other Name: Nicorrete gum

Sham Comparator: regular chewing gum

100 subjects who will be part of a control group

Other: Regular chewing gum

Patients will chew regular sugar-free gum 3 times a day until discharge or 7 days, whichever comes first

Other Name: Sugarlees chewing gum

No Intervention: No gum

100 subjects who will not get neither the intervention nor the placebo gum.

Detailed Description:

The main hypothesis of this study is that use of nicotine gum after colorectal surgery will accelerate recovery of bowel function. Eligible patients include all patients undergoing segmental small bowel or large bowel resection with a planned primary anastomosis, planned removal of the nasogastric tube at the end of the surgery, and administration of clear liquids on post-operative day one. Patients who have an ileostomy or colostomy created will be excluded. Patients enrolled in the study will be randomized to one of three groups: nicotine gum, regular gum, or no gum. Patients randomized to nicotine gum or regular gum will chew the gum three times a day for 1 week. The main outcome measure is time to first bowel movement or flatus.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 85 Years (Adult, Senior)

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Able to freely give written informed consent to participate in the study and have signed the Informed Consent Form;

Due to undergo small and/or large partial bowel resection via laparotomy or laparoscopy;

Exclusion Criteria:

Prior intestinal surgery

Mentally incompetent or unable or unwilling to provide informed consent or comply with study procedures

American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class IV or V;

History of abdominal carcinomatosis;

History of radiation enteritis;

Children < 18 or adults > 85 years of age

Pregnant women

Current cigarette, cigar smokers and chewers of tobacco. ex smokers who quit less than 3 months ago.

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01662115